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With less than two months to go before the Oct. 1 registration deadline, tank owners are reminded of the importance of registering their aboveground storage tanks with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Not only is tank registration required by law, the information provided during this process will be used by the agency in the development of a risk-based assessment that will be used to determine where the biggest threats to public health and the environment are located.
All storage containers with the capacity to hold at least 1,320 gallons of liquid, are 90 percent or more above ground and that are at a fixed location for 60 days or more must be registered with the DEP by Oct. 1. Required information includes data about tank contents, location and size; age of each tank, the material it is constructed of; what sort of secondary containment measures are in place and whether it is regulated by any other state or federal regulatory programs.
In addition to the Oct. 1 registration deadline, other important dates coming up are:
• Sept. 1: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit holders with aboveground storage tanks within zones of critical concern (ZCC) must have applied for NPDES individual permits. ZCCs are corridors along streams in close proximity to public drinking water intakes.
• Dec. 3: Spill Prevention Response Plans (SPRP) must be submitted. An interim guidance document on these plans can be found on the agency’s Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) web page, which can be accessed through a link on the bottom left-hand side of the DEP home page: www.dep.wv.gov.
• Jan. 1: Tanks must have undergone inspections and be certified by professional engineers. Each inspection must be completed by a professional engineer registered with the West Virginia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, a qualified person working under the direct supervision of a registered professional engineer, or by an individual certified to perform tank inspections by the American Petroleum Institute (API) or the Steel Tank Institute (STI). The agency also has interim guidance on tank certifications on its AST page.
For more information on tank registration, inspections and certifications, ZCCs, SPRPs or the AST program in general, go to the AST page, which includes several helpful links, including one with Frequently Asked Questions and another with contact information for DEP employees who can guide tank owners through the registration process.